Fashion Business Tip: Use Compelling Images
β£The best way to sell products is to let them sell themselves. How do you do that? With great photos!
The Importance of Product Photography
Photography can make or break your business. Regardless of if you are selling a physical product or a service, the pictures you use to communicate both are extremely important. Now while we understand that great photography or visuals may be expensive, you also need to understand that poor photography will hurt your business and sales in the short and long run. With the advent of smartphone cameras which can take amazing photos, an entrepreneur has to make out the time to create stunning visual images of their products in order to attract customers.
First it communicates what the brand is to the customer or even promoter of your business. Be it an e-banner or a physical shoot, your pictures tells us the mind behind the brand and if customers want to relate with the brand or not.
Image from stock.adobe.com
For example, I see a lot of pictures of items, such as fabrics, taken on the floor. I personally will not buy fabrics taken on the floor no matter how amazing the fabric or print is. I have written about this before on Instagram. Because for me, the following questions immediately spring to mind:
- was the floor cleaned before taking the picture;
- how many people have walked on that floor;
- will they wash the fabric afterwards - even though I know that is a no;
- will I react to the dirt on the floor;
- how can this person even put this on the floor;
- how hygienic is the person selling this to me; and the questions go on and on.
The other day, I saw a caterer who with a large food order posting a video with the food order lined on the floor. That to me is a no no. You simply cannot put food on the floor and if I was the client, the health and hygiene of my staff comes first. I will reject the order and probably never do business with you again.
Personal photography can be excused but definitely not pictures for business. Taking pictures of fabrics on the floor (with the tiles or carpet showing in the background), shots in bad lighting, poor looking flyers and e-banners should not be used to promote your brand.
βA brand is a personβs gut feeling about a product, service or organization.β
- Marty Neumeier, Branding Expert
Ashley Friedlein, CEO and co-founder of Econsultancy, has a similar take:
βBrand is the sum total of how someone perceives a particular organization.β
Ignyte explains it further:
"A brand is the way in which a company, organization, or individual is perceived by those who experience it. Because itβs intangible, a brand isnβt as easily defined as, say, a fish. But how theyβre defined is very similar indeed. Youβll probably agree that the most basic defining characteristic of a fish is where it lives. Fish live in water. Thatβs what makes a fish a fish. The same fundamental criterion applies to brands.
The answer to the question βwhat is a brand?β starts with where a brand lives. So where do brands live?
Brands live in the mind. They live in the minds of everyone who experiences them: employees, investors, the media, and, perhaps most importantly, consumers. Simply put, brands are perceptions.
β
Product Photography & Sales
Humans are very visual people. It is easier to sell an item when people SEE what it looks like than hear you explaining it through words and text. It is that simple. These days, Smartphone cameras can take amazing photos.
'Most Customers Use Mobile Devices To Shop For Products. ...showcasing good photography to prospective customers who are the go is essential. Online shoppers who use mobile phones want quick and straightforward content and do not have the time to read lengthy content, so you need to allow the product photography to do the talking.β β
- Pic-Up, -
If you want to boost your sales and increase your income, then you should take your product photos and presentation seriously. Showcasing your products with high-quality images can be the difference between a conversion and no sale at all.β
Stats & Facts on the Importance of Good Photography
Warning? Are you making these 7 common mistakes in your clothing and apparel photography?
About Me
Tope Williams-Adewunmi
A fashion entrepreneur passionate giving power through fashion
by sharing knowledge guaranteed to help fashion lovers
turn their love for fashion into a viable business.
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